As mobile, wireless, and/or handheld portable devices increasingly become multifunctional, “all-in-one,” communication devices, these handheld portable devices include an increasingly wide range of functions for handling a plurality of wireless communication services. For example, a single handheld portable device may enable Bluetooth communications and wireless local area network (WLAN) communications.
Much of the front end processing for wireless communications services is performed in analog circuitry. Front end processing within a portable device may comprise a range of operations that involve the reception of radio frequency (RF) signals, typically received via an antenna that is communicatively coupled to the portable device. Receiver tasks performed on an RF signal may include downconversion, filtering, and analog to digital conversion (ADC), for example. The resulting signal may be referred to as a baseband signal. The baseband signal typically contains digital data, which may be subsequently processed in digital circuitry within the portable device.
Front end processing within a portable device may also include transmission of RF signals. Transmitter tasks performed on a baseband signal may include digital to analog conversion (DAC), filtering, upconversion, and power amplification (PA), for example. The power amplified, RF signal, is typically transmitted via an antenna that is communicatively coupled to the portable device by some means. The antenna utilized for receiving an RF signal at a portable device may or may not be the same antenna that is utilized for transmitting an RF signal from the portable device.
The analog RF circuitry for each separate wireless communication service may be implemented in a separate integrated circuit (IC) device (or chip). This may result in increased chip and/or component count that may limit the extent to which the physical dimensions of the portable device may be miniaturized. This may result in physically bulky devices, which may be less appealing to consumer preferences.
Along with increased chip and/or component count, there may also be a corresponding rise in power consumption within the portable device. This may present another set of disadvantages, such as increased operating temperature, and reduced battery life between recharges.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.